About Me

Welcome to my blog! Thank you for taking the time to stop by.

I began writing this blog to share some family stories and ideas, and also maybe share a little of the excitement I feel when I make these discoveries. I also want to share what I have learnt and in the process maybe also better define my own approach to my research – identifying, organising, recording, storing and writing my family history.

Over the past few years I have kept busy researching not only my family history but also my husband’s maternal line. Most of our family began in England, Wales, Ireland and Germany and then came to beautiful Australia – some in the 19th century and some in the 20th. I find both Irish and German research rather daunting and I’m afraid I’ve neglected those branches a trifle.

Don’t forget to check out my Surname List to see if we may share some relatives! You can contact me via the spiffy contact form at the bottom of the page.

Background

I became interested in my family history from listening to the family stories my mother used to tell me. I started researching in earnest when I was a teenager – back when it was all card indexes, microfiche and personal visits to archives. It was slow-going but so interesting! After a few years, Life, as usual, got in the way and I packed up my research, put it away and went travelling with my new partner instead.

A few years ago, I decided to start researching again but, wow, things had sure changed! So much is on the internet now. I guess it all just went to my head. After an explosion of research and quickly pushing back my family tree a number of generations, I suddenly came to my senses. I realised I was drowning in information and it was all in a bit of a mess!

It was about that time that I came across the Genealogy Do-Over which has helped me to pause, take a deep breath and sort myself out. Don’t get me wrong – I haven’t finished yet! I’ve been at this do-over for a couple of years now and there is still heaps to do. But I’m taking it slowly and having more fun.

And isn’t that what it is all about? If family history isn’t fun – you are surely doing it wrong!

Me and my Grandfather. My Grandmother made my dress. Alas such skills were not passed on.

Anyway, I found over time that just collecting dates and bits of data isn’t enough. I want to write about some of my adventures in genealogy research and share some of the family stories I discover, especially the ones you tend to find when you brush away the cobwebs and blow off the dust in the family closets.

Every now and again I’ll also write a bit of an update on my genealogy do-over progress and maybe share some of the things I learn along the way. You never know, my stumbling steps may even prove mildly amusing and possibly even informative.

However, be warned that I, like most researchers, get distracted by Bright Shiny Objects and am also likely to write about anything that grabs my attention that remotely relates to genealogy. So you will find posts about conferences I attend or family artefacts I find or anything else genealogy related.

I would love to hear from you and hear about your stories, too! You can either comment on individual posts or contact me via this spiffy form:

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